Pelican Sign To Southern Lord

Southern Lord certainly has reason to celebrate this month. The label home recently announced that the latest addition to their fine roster, which includes Sunn O))), Boris, the Obssessed, the Hidden Hand and more, will be none other than Chicago-based instrumental metal icons and former Exclaim! Aggressive Tendencies Tour headliners Pelican.

Naturally, the deal means that Pelican will be providing Southern Lord with the follow-up to last full-length City Of Echoes, released back in 2007. However, there is no fixed release date as of yet. As a stop-gap, the band's inaugural effort will be a currently-unnamed EP. Guitarist Trevor de Brauw has said the new material will be "darker, heavier and more riff-oriented than on recent recordings." ('Cause you know how hard it is for an instrumental band to be riff-oriented.) Refusing to drop names/intent on keeping us guessing, de Brauw has also revealed that a special guitarist who has been influential to Pelican will be making a guest appearance.

Anyhoo, all of this gives Pelican ample reason to tour and show off some of their new licks. Next month, the band will visit select cities with fellow Southern Lord outfit Wolves In The Throne Room before actually settling down to finalize their fourth full-length.